倡 (chàng) is a Chinese character meaning “to advocate”. It is written from 亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 昌 (flourishing; prosperous), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “to advocate”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
亻 + 昌
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字「倡，乐也。从人昌声」；Unicode U+5021 与 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 现代字形核验（左「亻」2 笔 + 右「昌」8 笔 = 10 笔）
Memory aid
A person (亻) stands beside something bright and flourishing (昌) and calls out for everyone to join in — being the first to speak up for it: to advocate (倡).
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 提倡tí chàngto advocate; to promote倡 = chàng
- 倡议chàng yìto propose; proposal; initiative倡 = chàng
Go deeper
All readings
to advocate
to advocate; to initiate; to take the lead in proposing
带头发动；首先提出并号召。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 提倡tí chàngto advocate; to promote倡 = chàng
- 倡议chàng yìto propose; proposal; initiative倡 = chàng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 倡 mean?
倡 (chàng) means to advocate; to initiate; to take the lead in proposing.
How do you pronounce 倡?
It is pronounced chàng.
What parts is 倡 made of?
亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 昌 (flourishing; prosperous), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字「倡，乐也。从人昌声」；Unicode U+5021 与 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 现代字形核验（左「亻」2 笔 + 右「昌」8 笔 = 10 笔）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 倡 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 倡?
人. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 倡?
Common ones are 提倡 and 倡议. The reading of 倡 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.